[Shaking hands or not after the COVID pandemic?].

The tradition of physicians to shake hands with patients is controversial due to the risk of transmitting germs and because of cultural sensitivity. Nevertheless, handshaking is a common way of greeting in Western culture, although some patients prefer not to shake hands for religious or cultural reasons. It is also known that a handshake can transmit pathogenic microorganisms.

The ever ongoing cosmetic quest to change eye colour.

Purpose: To provide a historical overview of the various efforts to change eye colour for purely cosmetic reasons, along with the associated potential risks and harms.

Methods: Literature and online search.

Results: Eye drops containing adrenaline were used during World War II on involuntary inmates of concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Suspicious eyes - Elvis's glaucoma battle.

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) is an iconic figure in modern pop culture. Although many of his medical conditions have been the subject of extensive speculation, less is known about his ophthalmological problems, including steroid-induced glaucoma caused by a life-long use of steroids, both prescribed and self-administered, and secondary angle closure glaucoma most likely due to anterior uveitis. Further, he had an episode of acute angle closure glaucoma in 1971 that was treated with a subconjunctival injection of a mydriatic agent or, less likely, a paracentesis combined with an iridotomy.

Complications during elective cataract surgery: did the COVID-19 lockdown affect outcomes of ophthalmic surgery?

Purpose: One of the many consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was a worldwide lockdown of ophthalmic surgery procedures for several months in 2020. The present study aims to answer the following question: does an intermission of cataract surgery for two months cause an increase in complication rates?

Methods: In this retrospective clinical chart review, data was taken from Dutch cataract complication registration database that contains pre-, intra- and postoperative information of patients that underwent cataract surgery in the Netherlands. The amount as well as type of complications were extracted before and after the eight weeks surgical intermission period (SIP): six weeks before (SIP-6) and six weeks after this period (SIP+6) for the years 2016-2020.